City Council, District 3 — Berkeley City Council

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About this office

Members of the city council draft and vote on city laws and appoint certain municipal officers and employees.

This office uses ranked-choice voting, or “instant run-off voting.” When marking your ballot, instead of voting for just one candidate, rank up to three candidates in order of your preference.See the Voting info section for more.

Candidate Contact Info

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My Top 3 Priorities

Housing for Everyone. We can make our neighborhood safer, stronger, and more vibrant — with low & middle income housing around the Adeline Corridor, more small businesses and shops , designated bike paths and good lighting and beautification

A Safer Berkeley. Crime continues to be a pressing concern for South Berkeley. Too many community members don’t feel safe in their own neighborhood. I support bringing back the beat cop, walking the streets. Police officers who walk a regular beat

Stop Violent Crimes Against Women. It’s unacceptable that women are being sexually assaulted on and near the U.C. campus. I will bring a strong voice for keeping our young women safe. We must address human trafficking-no child is ever a prostitute-

Experience

Experience

Profession:Educator, Real Estate Broker & Mother

Real Estate Broker, Our Land Realty & Funding (1991–current)

Commissioner, Vice Chair, City of Berkeley Planning Commission — Appointed position (2015–current)

Biography

Following the Example of My Parents

My commitment to public service stems from my parents. I grew up in the small central-Ohio city of Newark (home of the Native American Great Circle Mound), where less than 1 percent of the population was African American. My father was a custodian and factory worker, and my mother, who was a maid for a wealthy family, almost single-handedly integrated the local YMCA pool. I loved to swim but could not apply for lessons at the Y because I was African American, but my mother approached the board of directors and asked for a meeting to address this issue. They met in our home — I remember serving coffee to the board members. Ultimately, I was enrolled, and later, as a teenager, I created my own free swim program helping children in my neighborhood overcome their fear of the water and taught them how to swim and safely enjoy the sport.

I learned that change doesn’t happen without public pressure, and through our love for something greater than ourselves.

After studying business and political science at Ohio State University, I settled in Berkeley. When my daughter was young and crime was becoming a larger problem in our community, I attended a neighborhood watch meeting. Some of my neighbors came up to me afterwards and said, “we appreciated what you said.” Later, I was approached by city officials and asked to be on the Housing Commission, where I served for six years and my peers elected me as chair.

I also chaired the Zoning Adjustment Board, and am currently vice chair of the Planning Commission.

Other boards I’ve served on include the Merritt College Advisory Board of Real Estate, the U.C. Berkeley Wesleyan House Board, the Downtown Berkeley YMCA Board, and the Oakland & The World Enterprises Board.

I brought to my commission and board work an ability to listen, to stay focused on solutions, and to welcome participation of people with different viewpoints. I will bring that civil, solution-focused approach to the city council.

Inspired by My Spiritual Practice

I was raised in the church and have a meaningful spiritual practice. I believe in God, in being as positive and giving as we possibly can. For me, that’s community service. Giving back to others.

I learned the ancient traditions from my community of elders — honor the ancestors, respect the elders, treat people with kindness, and know that you are deserving of all that is good. Learn to understand and know God for yourself.

Who supports this candidate?

Featured Endorsements

Gloria Steinem, Social & Political Activist / Founder of Ms. Magazine

The Berkeley Democratic Club

The East Bay Times Publication

Organizations (5)

Evolve- Ca

East Bay Forward

The John George Democratic Club

The East Bay Times

The Berkeley Democratic Club

Elected Officials (7)

Shirley Issel, former Executive Director, Berkeley Unified School District

The Honorable Susan Wengraf, Berkeley City Council District 6

The Honorable Betty Olds, former Berkeley City Council District 6

The Honorable Darryl Moore, Berkeley City Council District 2

The Honorable Laurie Capetilli, Berkeley City Council Disrtrict 5

The Honorable Carole Kennerly, former Vice Mayor City of Berkeley, Council Member & Founder William B. Rumford Legacy

Questions & Answers

Questions from League of Women Voters—Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville (4)

If you are elected, what would you like to achieve during your term in office?

Answer from Deborah Matthews:

Build Housing Now-In the past several decades, we’ve seen striking transformation of many neighborhoods of Berkeley, but South Berkeley has not shared in that prosperity. We have an opportunity to build new housing stock & revitalize the Adeline Corridor, supporting economic prosperity for small businesses & creating new job opportunities for our local residents, but we must do so without displacing long term residents or threatening the diversity and cultural history of the community.

Bring Back Cops On The Beat-Crime continues to be a pressing concern for South Berkeley. Too many community members don’t feel safe in their own neighborhood. Earlier this year, there were child abduction attempts near Malcolm X and Willard schools. In May 2016 there was a shooting less than a block from my home. There have been 2 murders & 5 shootings recently in South & West Berkeley .Many residents in the community feel criminal street gangs are responsible for a major part of this violence. Gang violence results in too many youth in our cities & communities left seriously wounded or dead. Crime prevention saves lives and increases safety where we live. We must establish goal is to help at-risk youth & to provide necessary services before youth turn to delinquency.

End Violent Crime Against Women- It’s unacceptable that women are being sexually assaulted on and near the U.C. campus. I will bring a strong voice for keeping our young women safe. It's not just the campus where we need to make improvements. In our district, in our city, we have unacceptable levels of domestic violence. When you look at mothers with children in abusive situations, there are not enough resources to meet the need. We need to address human trafficking issues as well. Young girls who have few options are being picked up and forced to perform sexual acts. (As Los Angeles County Judge Catherine Pratt said, “Let’s be perfectly clear. They are victims. There is simply no such thing as a child prostitute.”)

Address Homelessness with Compassion -I’m encouraged by the new approach in how cities are addressing homelessness, with a focus on providing housing first, instead of making the housing dependent on work training or getting treatment for mental health issues. Too often, homeless people have to “earn” their way into housing, a daunting task when it’s so hard to make progress on mental health or addiction or employment issues without stable housing. For 30 years, I have been feeding the homeless, from my own kitchen. I started doing it when my daughter was small. I do it three or four times a year, when I have the time and I feel the spirit leading me. I spend the entire day preparing a meal to feed 30 to 40 people, and then I take to a park where I know there are people who are hungry. I take special care that the meals taste good and have inviting presentation. The highest compliment I’ve ever received is when someone told me, “I can taste the love.

How do you plan to balance the regional Planned Bay Area (ABAG/MTC) goals of Priority Development Areas (PDAs) with local needs of property owners, traffic/parking/congestion problems, and other local concerns?

Answer from Deborah Matthews:

This must continue to be an on-going discussion between local & regional governing- Providing housing on transit corridors provides one of our greatest immediate solutions.

To be effective I believe urban needs to dig deeper than our current codes and ordinances and sometimes out dated data. We need to make certain we are making a positive difference in all people's lives. With Respect to our current process we must address more closely our equitable socio-economic impacts based in solutions:

Can our city and regional prosper more fairly embracing all members of our communities

How do we solve our affordable housing crisis- What is affordable & for whom?

How do we address our significant demographic and culture change now and in the future?

Should transportation reorient from cars to people?

Considering the disintegration of local infrastructure, how can the city upgrade to meet the current regulatory requirements for clean air and for clean water discharge into the Bay?

Answer from Deborah Matthews:

Declining funding at the state and federal levels have put the growing responsibility of infrastructure cost squarely in the lap of our local community. The highest success rates of addressing the issues have come through Public-private partnerships, the P3s. Where contractual arrangements between public agencies (state or local governments) and the private sector collaborate to provide infrastructure for the public. Both public and private partners Both public and private partners contribute financially and share in the risk and reward. We should continue to explore the opportunities that become available through effective partnerships and agreements.

Candidate Contact Info

Use tab to activate the candidate button. Use "return" to select this candidate. You can access your list by navigating to 'My Choices'.

For more in-depth information on this candidate, follow the links for each tab in this section. For most screenreaders, you can hit Return or Enter to enter a tab and read the content within.

Candidate has provided information.

Thank candidate for sharing their information on Voter’s Edge.

My Top 3 Priorities

Affordable housing is a major concern in our community, and while we have done a great job of building luxury apartments all over town, we need to focus on low and medium income and workforce housing for people working or doing business in Berkeley.

I’m running for City Council District 3, because I want to serve South Berkeley constituents. City Council is a big job, and I’m the only candidate who can commit to doing it full time. I’ll work tirelessly to serve the needs of my neighbors.

I’m a strong believer in the effort to establish a $15 minimum wage, but I support a living wage. There's a lot of work ahead of us to develop a plan that solves all of the issues around this, but Berkeley should be leading the nation in this effort.

Experience

Experience

Profession:School Administrator, Berkeley Unified School District Public Information Officer, Retired

Biography

Lifetime Passion for Public Service

– Statesman, Not a Politician

I discovered public service in high school when I created and managed a student job center, bringing applicants and employers together. Next I served in the U.S. Air Force for 6 ½ years, where my community service continued as Media Director for the Rapid City Chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association; as an enlisted advisor on the Base Commander’s Advisory Council and I created Operation L.O.V.E. which provided Air Force volunteers and vehicles to assist community seniors (spring cleaning, moving etc.).

I was the Media Coordinator for Nuremberg Actions (a 24-hour vigil at the Concord Naval Weapons Station), where as a veteran I was able to serve effectively as a liaison between Nuremberg Actions, the Navy and the Sheriff’s Department in tense situations. From there, I went to Nicaragua where I produced 32 documentaries for Non Profits.

Returning to Berkeley from Nicaragua, I spent a decade working in Berkeley schools as an active parent:

· Safety Committee Chair at King Child Development Center

· PTA President at John Muir Elementary School

· BSEP P&O Representative

· Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee

· Berkeley PTA Council President

I have also served on five non-profit Boards in Berkeley, as president on four, and as a Deacon at St. John’s Presbyterian Church for 12 years. I have served on the Board of Elders for the past eight years. I was baptized at St. John’s in 1956.

For the past 14 years I have served as the Public Information Officer for the Berkeley Unified School District, serving 9,000 students and their families, 1,500 employees and the Board of Education. In that role I have been ombudsman, problem solver, troubleshooter, communicator and spokesperson for BUSD.

Berkeley Native, Longtime District 3 Resident

I was born at Alta Bates Hospital in 1956. My family lived across the street. I am the only candidate who is a longtime District 3 resident. I moved into the LeConte neighborhood 13 years ago, where my wife, AnaLuisa (Nelly) Quiñonez has lived for 30 years.

Political Beliefs

I am a lifelong public servant, not a politician. I really like the Rotary's concept of Service before Self. That's how I have tried to live my life and how I have modeled for my son as a single parent. He says that he is a firefighter, visiting children in hospitals dressed as Deadpool on his days off because of my example. My community service, outlined in detail in my extended biography above, has been as rewarding to me as it has been to the recipients of my service, and I feel the same passion towards service in government. I believe that the only way to truly represent the needs and desires of my neighbors in District 3 is to engage and communicate with all constituents by participating in our business and neighborhood associations, non-profits and other organized groups, as well as individual residents through town Halls and knocking on doors. I am committed to that level of engagement in my community and I intend to work directly with the 48 people representing me on Berkeley commissions, who I will consider my Cabinet. I intend to make better, more informed decisions at the Council level because of a level of engagement never before witnessed in our community, only possible because I will be working full time at this job. I am proudly progressive by nature, but as my biography shows, I have a wide range of experience that will help me to collaborate with councilmembers on both sides of the issues, looking for the best for my neighbors and the greater Berkeley community.

Inspector, State of California Department of EDD, Social Services, Department of Developmental Services (1976–1988)

Special Assistant to the Governor, Governor's Office (1975–1976)

Supervisor, State of California Department of Corrections - Vacaville (1974–1975)

Assistant Professor, CSU, Sonoma (1975–1975)

Education

John F. Kennedy University School of Law — JD, Law (2004)

CSU, Sacramento — Masters in Public Administration, Public Administration (1975)

UC Davis — BA, Political Science (1972)

Community Activities

Poll Inspector, Alameda County Voters Registrars (1998–current)

Biography

I was born in Martinez, California. My father was in the Military and I live in Germany in my early years. My Mother was born in California and her family was born here. We settled in Vallejo, California where I graduated from Vallejo High, BA in Political Science from UC Davis, Masters in Public Administration from CSU, Sacramento, J.D., John F. Kennedy University School of Law. I began my 25 year career with the State of California working in the Departments of Corrections, Eduction, EDD,Parks & Recreation, Developmental Services and Social Services. I was a Assistant Professor at CSU, Sonoma in the School of Environmental Studies and Planning in 1975. I was selected as a Special Assistant to Governor Jerry Brown in 1975-76. I was elected as a Brown Delegate in the 4th Congressional District in the 1976 to the Democratic National Convention and elected as a President Jimmy Carter Delegate in 1980 and went to the Democratic National Convention both in New York City. I retired from the State of California in 1999. I worked in a law firm in Walnut Creek doing Family Law for three years. In 2001, I was Chief of Staff to a City Councilmember in Oakland and served two years for the City Council, Oakland, California. I received a call in 2004 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Region 9 to work for 2 years in the Office of Regional Counsel and 8 years as Administrative Support, to the Director of Waste Management Division now Land Division when I retired in 2014.

Who supports this candidate?

Organizations (1)

Envoled

Questions & Answers

Questions from League of Women Voters—Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville (4)

If you are elected, what would you like to achieve during your term in office?

Answer from Al G. Murray:

I want to be a Councilmember that is held accountable for the issues I advocate and the positions I take especially in District 3. If I am able to accomplish public Safety and safe parks the Citizens of the District will know. I do not want to be a Councilmember that makes many promises and unable to produce results. If I am unable to accomplished a matter in the District or City, I will let you know. I will not stop trying and attempting to make a difference in the District or City. My theme has been for range affordBewable housing, safe neighborhoods and parks and positive efficient city staff that will resolve your issues and concerns.

As a Retiree I will make myself available to all citizens in my District. My ultimate goal is to win the hearts and minds of the voters in my District. I am asking and being worthy of your vote for me to represent you by being elected on November 8, 2016 to the City Council. For those who do not vote for me, if elected, I will do everything in my power to obtain your trust and demostrate by electing me will be a good choice for you and this District.

What do you consider the most important issue facing the city?

Answer from Al G. Murray:

Beside the housing issue, the City must address the homeless and those with mental health issues. This is not an easy problem and there are no quick solutions, however, it does not stop us from attempting to address this issues and concerns. If we take the issue of homelessness and do what others city have done we will be on our way towards addressing this matter. But, we must provide the services for those who are homeless that have mental health issues. We must develop a comprehensive plan with all city services working together to ensure those with mental health issues obtain medication, are able to be monitored for their health and services and anything else that we foresee a need to meet their care. Our failure to develop a method of dealing with home and mental health only puts us in a condition of having more homeless and those with unresolved mental health issues in Berkeley and surrounding areas.

How do you plan to balance the regional Planned Bay Area (ABAG/MTC) goals of Priority Development Areas (PDAs) with local needs of property owners, traffic/parking/congestion problems, and other local concerns?

Answer from Al G. Murray:

This is a matter that many resources have to be involved for resolution. We need the involvement of Alameda County and their resources, we need to review our city services to determine if there are resources and funding the address this issue. We need to discuss this matter with the various communities in the city with Townhall meetings, Special meeting with City Councilmember and involvement of Alameda County Board of Supervisors to develop workable plan for success with property owner, with congestions problems and any other concerns.

Considering the disintegration of local infrastructure, how can the city upgrade to meet the current regulatory requirements for clean air and for clean water discharge into the Bay?

Answer from Al G. Murray:

The City has develop a Climiate Action Plan which if implemented will resolve the issue of clean air and the discharge of clean water into the Bay. If the City Council cannot address these issues there are a number of City Commissions which have the time and energy to make recommendations to Council for change(s) by referrals.

Political Beliefs

Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown told me as Chief of Staff to a Oakland City Councilmember in 2001 if you want "change" it begins in the City. I have taken that advice to heart. Most of my career has been in government as a Public Servant. The years I served in the City of Oakland, I have been a Voting Inspector for Alameda County serving Oakland and Berkeley for 18 years. I have had numerous experiences with my 25 year tenure with the State of California and received federal experience with 10 years with the US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 in San Francisco.

In Berkeley, Councilmember Max Anderson has appointed me to 4 Commissions as Commissioner to the Fair Campaign Practices Commission / Open Government (Vice-Chair 2016); Energy Commission (Chair 2014-15),Commissioner; Commissioner on Commission on Disability. Mayor Tom Bates appointed me to the Berkeley Personnel Commssion in 2013 where I served as Vice-Chair and now Chair.

I already represent the City of Berkeley appointed by Mayor Bates in May 2013 to the Measure A Oversight Committee which deals with health care for all in Alameda County. Councilmember Laurie Capitelli appointed me to the Alameda County Transportation Commission Measure B Citizens Advisory Committee which deal with transportation in the County of Alameda.

Fair and Impartial Policing

Summary

Over the last two years I have worked with the Police Department for training in Fair and Impartial Policing. If all staff had this training, we will not face issues that have hit other cities between police officers and citizens. It starts with the right culture from Headquarters all the way with the right employees recruited and employed.

Public Financing of Campaigns in Berkeley. There has been a major issue with the Fair Campaign Practice Commission and Open Government to continue to allow any citizen the right to seeking public office without having large sums or funds needed in fundraiser to run. If the Measure passes, it gives Berkeley the ability for anyone who wishing to run for office the ability to do so. We need to keep Corporations and Big Business from influencing our elected official and Candidates with large amounts of money.

We must deal with the Rent Control issues in the city. Ensure that Seniors and those with Disabilities have their issues addressed particularly with access to housing and apartments. There is a need to address renewable energy sources such as solar and wind for homes and businesses and have rebates for citizens to obtain dealing with energy issues.

The Personnel Board has worked for 18 months addressing the Mason-Tillman Report. The City must ensure there is a contract to finish the recommendations by the Personnel Board to the City Council for the implementation addressing many concerns and issues that face city employees.

Small Businesses

Summary

The City is encouraged to promote and encourage small businesses to continue to come to Berkeley and established their business here.

It will take a comprehensive effort for everyone to encourage small businesses to continue to come to Berkeley which helps the local economic conditions and employment.